The season of the blessed rains are commemorated throughout the world. Native American Hopis show reverence and gratitude to nature at the end of the Kachina dancers. Kachinas are supernatural beings that help to safeguard and protect tribes. Young men who are considered to be pure of heart perform these dances in order to bring rain and healing energies to the whole community. And in Celtic tradition the Lammas, the first loaf of bread to be baked from the harvest is placed on the altar as an offering of gratitude to Mother Nature.
Aligning with the rhythms of the rainy season will help you achieve inner cleansing and physical and emotional realignment. Use the reforming energy heralded by this season to go indoors and reorganise not only your thoughts but your physical living and working space. Clean out your files and closets, catch up on neglected paperwork, reorganise your home, especially the kitchen and office areas, and as you do, reevaluate the choices you’ve made since the last rainy season, redirecting them as necessary. This is a great opportunity to reinvoke your intention to living a life of inner harmony and ahimsa. Since the entire universe is experiencing this vibration of reform, it helps your mind immensely to attune to be and be in balance with the greater energies of the cosmos.
During the rainy season the earth releases more gases into the atmosphere, and this tends to aggravate vata, the bodily air humour. Further aggravation is created by the dampness of the rains and the higher acidity in the water at this time. The rainy season comes at a time when the body is at its point of lowest vitality. Even though the rainy season marks the beginning of a period of strengthening, the body becomes vulnerable, and it’s resistance to the onslaught of the rains diminishes.
Vata-nourishing foods and activities are the magic-balm to relieve typical rainy season symptoms such as anxiety, arthritis, constipation, distension, emaciation, fearfulness, insomnia, memory loss and nervous disorders. Vata may be nourished at this time by light, warm, sweet and semi-unctuous foods. Brown rice, wheat, and barley are excellent grains for this season… Pitta, the body’s fire humour, and Kapha, the body’s water humour, are also moderately affected by excessive wetness. To remedy this lessen your intake of fluids but drink warm stimulating teas such as mint, licorice, vetiver, and ginger. Seasonal vegetables such as beets, carrots, fresh corn, daikon and squashes should be well cooked. Eat sautéed greens in moderation and reduce the consumption of beans during this season.
The rainy season brings with it pelting down rains that force us indoors. Sitting inside listening to the hypnotic rhythm of the raindrop naturally cajoles the mind inward and can promote a spirit of comfort when we engage in the appropriate activities. Organising your living and working spaces helps you gently transition into a calm and sheltered space within yourself where you can experience Living Ahimsa, the profound power of peace.
When you apply yourself to clearing out the accumulated glut of old files, drawers, cabinets, and closets – and catching up on neglected paperwork – you will be surprised to feel an abundance of vital energy surging from within.
This vital energy helps you create the mental and emotional inner space to reevaluate your choices and redirect them as necessary; a great opportunity to make a solid investment in your future inner harmony. Your retooling activities at this time will garner potent harmonic support from the cosmos.’Living Ahimsa Diet,’ New Age Books.
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